Friday, September 20, 2013

Be Kind

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”---Ian Maclaren, author and theologian

Some face the battle head on. Some go AWOL hoping it will just disappear. Many fail to recognize it exists; instead they tell you life is just moving on from one big party to the next. Many of us have spent our time in each camp, even returning from leave to fully engage again and again.

Being kind seems like an easy assignment. For those gentle souls that recognize they are in a battle and are being hammered by life it is easier to be kind. The difficulty I have is with the many that choose to be bitter and angry. Worse still are those that pursue evil. There is an arrogant evil where individuals and groups prey on the poor and the helpless, widows, orphans and strangers. Faced with hearts cauterized by evil my gut reaction is to war with them—not recognizing that the war lies elsewhere. Still “Be kind” is the command, “Be kind to all”that“they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”

So it is incumbent upon us that see clearly to be kind. We that understand the fight, yay, some of us have suffered some serious wounds. We have seen evil wielded and been slapped by darkness. The battle is difficult for all. Kindness is one weapon in our arsenal.